Tag Archives: Software (TRBC level 4)

Deutsche Telekom offers a German digital vaccination ‘passport’ design | Instant News

March 2, 2021 NewsDesk

FILE PHOTOS: Deutsche Telekom sign silhouettes against the sun and clouds over the headquarters of the German telecommunications giant in Bonn, Germany, February 19, 2019. REUTERS / Wolfgang Rattay

BERLIN (Reuters) – Deutsche Telekom said on Monday it had submitted an application to the German government to draft digital vaccination passports, as part of European efforts to reopen travel for those with protection against COVID-19.

A spokesman confirmed that the telecommunications group had submitted a bid under a tender that was called up last week and closed on Monday. CEO Tim Hoettges told reporters on Friday that Deutsche Telekom plans to make an offer.

Health Minister Jens Spahn wants vaccination passports ready in 12 weeks as part of an EU plan in which they will serve as proof that the holder has been vaccinated or has recovered from a viral disease and thus has a degree of protection against the disease.

The EU executive aims to present its plans for a “digital green permit” on March 17 and to work with international organizations to ensure its systems also work outside the EU, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday.

Deutsche Telekom, which is partially owned by the state, co-designed a German smartphone app that uses Bluetooth short-range radio chat between devices to indicate and warn those at risk of contracting COVID-19.

The Corona Warn application, which has been downloaded nearly 26 million times, was created in partnership with SAP. However, the business software group said that was not part of the offer for digital vaccination passports.

US software giant Microsoft declined to comment on reports that it participated in the tender.

Germany already uses yellow passport-sized booklets to keep records of individual vaccinations. Under the existing plans, this tape – which does not entail any travel privileges – will go digital next year.

Reporting by Nadine Schimroszik, Written by Douglas Busvine, Editing by Susan Fenton

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Australia

Afterpay Australia explores global records as first-half sales double | Instant News

February 25, 2021 NewsDesk

(Reuters) – Afterpay is exploring additional overseas listings amid growing US investor interest, Australia’s buy-now-pay-later said on Thursday after reporting first-half sales more than doubled.

Fintech Australia and its global competitors such as Klarna, Affirm and Sweden’s Zip Co have seen explosive growth since the pandemic locked in large parts of the world and made more people turn to online shopping.

Afterpay shares have gained more than 1,500% since March, establishing itself as the 12th most valuable company in Australia.

Afterpay also said it raised A $ 1.25 billion ($ 995 million) in convertible banknotes in a complex deal to buy Matrix Partners stock from its US business – which accounts for 43% of its sales. The United States is also a key growth market for the industry where it struggles with fast-growing Klarna.

Klarna, who is reported to be tapping into more private funding, posted his full-year results on Thursday evening.

Afterpay’s legal losses more than doubled to A $ 79.2 million as the strong growth of its UK business pushed the unit’s valuation higher and increased the value of put options held by other companies. Zip also posted a much bigger half-year loss after buying New York counterpart Quadpay.

While Afterpay’s gross transaction loss fell to 0.7% – indicating fewer customers skipping payments – margins also fell slightly to 2.2% from six months ago.

Transactions made through Afterpay totaled A $ 9.8 billion in the six months to December 31, double the A $ 4.8 billion processed last year, supported by strong holiday spending.

Active subscribers jumped 1.9 million to 13.1 million in the three months to December.

($ 1 = 1.2547 Australian dollars)

Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru; Edited by Forward Samuel

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Games

Apple users could spend more on non-gaming mobile apps by 2024 – report | Instant News

February 23, 2021 NewsDesk

FILE PHOTO: Apple Inc logo seen hanging at the entrance of an Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, USA, October 16, 2019. REUTERS / Mike Segar

(Reuters) – Apple Inc customers will likely spend more money on non-gaming mobile apps by 2024, data analytics firm SensorTower said on Monday, as the lockdown lifestyle results in users looking more than just games to apps that help with service delivery. more important.

Downloads of business, education, health and wellness apps have seen a sharp spike due to stay-at-home acts during the health crisis.

During the early days of the pandemic, users spent even more money on mobile games on the App Store. But as the lockdown extended, improving work-life and modes of communication, their attention turned to photo and video sharing, dating, video conferencing and instant messaging apps.

Shares of companies such as Zoom Video Communications Inc and Match Group as well as other household companies surged last year.

SensorTower says consumer spending on mobile apps will reach $ 270 billion in the next five years globally, more than tripling when compared to 2020.

Apple customers will spend more than their Android counterparts with the App Store which is expected to generate $ 185 billion in global revenue, the data analysis firm said.

Gaming revenue will continue to take up a relatively higher share of the Google Play store than it does on the App Store, with a projected 71% share of games in 2025 compared to 42% on the App Store, data shows.

The data analytics firm expects Europe to become a key market over the next five years, with revenue growth on the continent likely to outpace growth in Asia and North America.

Downloads in Europe are expected to grow to 36.9 billion by 2025, compared with 28.4 billion in 2020, while revenue growth is expected to more than double to $ 42 billion in the next five years.

Reporting by Eva Mathews and Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Edited by Arun Koyyur

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A British court blocked Epic Games from contesting Apple’s Fortnite ban | Instant News

February 23, 2021 NewsDesk

(Reuters) – A UK antitrust court ruled on Monday that Epic Games, the creators of the popular game Fortnite, would not be allowed to pursue its case against Britain’s Apple Inc over its App Store payment system and control over app downloads.

The two companies have been at loggerheads since August, when the game maker tried to circumvent Apple’s 30% fee on the App Store by launching its own in-app payment system, leading to Apple’s next Fortnite ban from its stores.

A British court said Epic’s lawsuit against Alphabet Inc. Google may move forward, but thinks that the United States will be a better forum for its case against Apple.

“Epic will reconsider pursuing its case against Apple in the UK following the settlement of the US case,” the video game company said in a statement responding to the court’s decision.

Apple and Google did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

In October, a federal judge in California ruled in a request that Apple could ban Fortnite games from its App Store but shouldn’t hurt Epic’s developer tools business, which includes the “Unreal Engine” software used by hundreds of other video games.

Epic Games founder and chief executive Tim Sweeney previously said Apple’s control of the platform had tilted the level of the playing field.

Reporting by Chavi Mehta, Ayanti Bera and Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Edited by Krishna Chandra Eluri